Maurice Smith: Battle with Alabama 'very disappointing'

Inside this hotel meeting room are Maurice Smith and several family members.

It's Saturday night, hours after Smith graduated from Alabama.

But the family isn't celebrating.

Instead, they're seated around this long rectangular table talking about Smith's ugly ongoing battle with Alabama and sharing their frustration regarding Alabama's handling of this process while continuing to emphasize that they believe Smith and other graduate transfers should be able to transfer wherever they want. Even if it's in the same conference.

Smith, a senior defensive back, continues to seek a release to Georgia. Tide coach Nick Saban continues to tell him that he can't transfer to Georgia or any other SEC school.

It's become a frustrating, draining situation for both the Smith family and Alabama.

"Today was not the day it was supposed to be," Smith's mother, Samyra, says, beginning to tear up. "The reason it wasn't the day it was supposed to be is because when I saw my son walk across the stage, I cried. And I cried not for the right reasons. I cried because of the struggle and because of the impact it was having on our family. And it was painful because I knew my son was tormented and he couldn't enjoy it, and he didn't enjoy it."

Smith has been wanting to speak publicly for a while, but hadn't. Until now.

Wearing a black Nike t-shirt with the words "Just do it" across the front, Smith shares his feelings about the situation publicly for the first time.

"It's very disappointing just because now that we've come to this point and it's a very heated situation," says Smith, who ended the spring as Alabama's first-team nickel back. "There's a lot of adversity that's been thrown at me, the university, coach Saban, and it's really making it something that it's really not. I believe it was something that was just as simple as a transfer. But now it's kind of transpired into something far greater, and a lot of bad things have been coming out of this. It's just very disappointing because I never meant to hurt anyone. ... I just feel like I've earned the right to better myself my last year and go into this season without any doubts."

Both sides will tell you the same thing.

This is a situation that has become so much more and so much uglier than it should have become.

Alabama has mishandled certain things behind the scenes, like telling Smith that he was no longer allowed inside the team facility even though he had only asked for permission to talk to other schools at that point.

The Smith family will also tell you that they wish they had handled certain things differently, like communicating better with the coaching staff about their concerns before Maurice asked for permission to talk to other schools in mid-June.

"Honestly, it's not what everyone is making it out to be," Smith says. "It's not personal. I feel like it's what's best for me for my senior year. And this is a hard decision of course because I have so much love for all my teammates and all of the staff and everyone for the university, especially all of the love that they've shown me over these last three years. And it's really a business decision. It's not meant to cause any hurt or harm to the university, to the coaches or to make anyone look bad appearance-wise."

But inside this hotel meeting room, Smith and both parents all say the same thing: We're ready for this to be over and ready for Maurice to find a new team.

The hope, they say, is that Smith will be able to go to Georgia. They feel like -- by graduating -- he has earned the right to transfer wherever he wants.

Seated in the corner of the room near the end of the conversation, Smith is asked, "Why Georgia?"

"Honestly, I believe it's the best fit for me personally to just walk in and have an opportunity in front of me to play and also get on film," Smith says. "And also, our (former) defensive coordinator is there. Coach Smart, he's the head coach now. So it's just an all-around good fit for me to come in. It's almost the same system as Alabama, so it will be an easy transition and also the playbook. And I don't have a lot of time to get on the field and basically get my senior year underway, so I think that would be the best opportunity and the best choice for me to move to."